This patent is directed to gaming apparatus, which could be either an individual gaming unit or a casino gaming network having multiple gaming units, that is capable of wireless data transmission and receipt.
Typically, a gaming unit has been provided with a display unit that is capable of generating video images, a coin or bill acceptor, and a controller with a memory and a processor that controls the overall operation of the gaming unit. The controller was programmed to allow a person to make a wager, to cause video images to be generated on the display unit, to determine an outcome of the video gambling game, and to determine a value payout associated with the outcome of the game. The conventional gaming unit also was programmed to display video images representing a game, which included a number of user-selectable video gambling games including video poker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno, video bingo, video pachinko games, video card games, video games of chance, and combinations thereof.
Traditionally, gaming units and/or gaming networks were interconnected using copper wire cable. Later, fiber optical cable was used to provide a stable, low loss, guided propagation path for carrying data between and among gaming units and gaming networks. Fiber optical cable was also used to connect gaming units to other gaming devices such as player tracking systems and progressive jackpot systems. Due to the nature of the both types of cabling, each segment of the copper wire cable and the fiber optic cable used in the gaming network required physical coupling to essentially fixed-position system connections such as a fixed-position connector, a floor or wall mounted receptacle, etc,. and sometimes required running through ceiling panels, along baseboards, under floor panels, and throughout other areas of the casino. Casinos reconfigure their gaming machines to accomplish various changes including, for example, the addition of new gaming machines, customer preferences, optimizing game play time, traffic patterns, etc.